Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $130.22, but opened at $127.00. Toll Brothers shares last traded at $125.08, with a volume of 320,059 shares trading hands.

The construction company reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.13 by ($0.75). Toll Brothers had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 21.04%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.85 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Toll Brothers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. This is a positive change from Toll Brothers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Toll Brothers's payout ratio is 7.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TOL has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Toll Brothers from $127.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Toll Brothers from $94.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Toll Brothers from $141.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Toll Brothers from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Toll Brothers in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $116.40.

Insider Activity

In other Toll Brothers news, Director Stephen F. East sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $178,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,120,295.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Toll Brothers news, Director Stephen F. East sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $178,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,120,295.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Martin P. Connor sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.05, for a total transaction of $580,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 49,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,770,122.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 66,500 shares of company stock valued at $7,881,930. Corporate insiders own 1.54% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Toll Brothers

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Toll Brothers by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,268,164 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,158,255,000 after purchasing an additional 216,849 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Toll Brothers by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,620,912 shares of the construction company's stock worth $372,198,000 after acquiring an additional 14,449 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Toll Brothers by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,467,336 shares of the construction company's stock worth $182,484,000 after acquiring an additional 139,004 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Toll Brothers by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,041,569 shares of the construction company's stock worth $209,853,000 after acquiring an additional 225,354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY increased its stake in shares of Toll Brothers by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,784,965 shares of the construction company's stock worth $132,016,000 after acquiring an additional 12,520 shares in the last quarter. 91.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Toll Brothers Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 4.95, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company's 50 day moving average is $123.21 and its 200-day moving average is $107.48. The company has a market capitalization of $12.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.67.

Toll Brothers Company Profile

Toll Brothers, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, builds, markets, sells, and arranges finance for a range of detached and attached homes in luxury residential communities in the United States. It designs, builds, markets, and sells condominiums through Toll Brothers City Living. The company also develops a range of single-story living and first-floor primary bedroom suite home designs, as well as communities with recreational amenities, such as golf courses, marinas, pool complexes, country clubs, and fitness and recreation centers; and develops, operates, and rents apartments.